I am finally back (in a semi-functional capacity) after attending A Romantic Adventure in Christchurch… immediately followed by getting sick and being sent home from the office for “looking gross and deathly”. Tough, but fair. Just in time to metaphorically lose my shit because it’s the end of the financial year and this accountant has things that need accounting for. Accountant joke ✌️. I know – groundbreaking.

Anyway – March Madness. Buckle up.

If you were at ARA, I hope you had the best time. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit overwhelmed — and by about 4pm on Saturday I was fully cooked. Like… mentally logged off, physically present, spiritually horizontal. I also nervously peed approximately five times between 10–11am before doors opened, which feels excessive but also correct for the situation. My pelvic floor was doing community service at that point.

Did I need to be that nervous? Definitely not.
Did the event absolutely slap? Very much yes.

It was genuinely so special meeting so many of you in real life – people I’ve only ever chatted to through socials and emails – and catching up with familiar book besties like no time had passed. You are my people, and I fucking loved it. Friday night in particular was a highlight – good chats, big laughs, and strong “why do we all live so far away from each other” energy, which feels a bit unfair.

For those who couldn’t make it, don’t stress — we’ve got signed stock from besties Helen Scheuerer, Stacia Stark, and Nalini Singh hitting the website very soon. Consider this your redemption arc.

As this lands in your inbox, we’re hosting T.R Sherring’s debut launch for A Tale of Cursed Tides here in Wellington.

Working with T.R has been an absolute delight. I am on strict instructions to not let her stay out until 5:30am again and to get her home at a respectable time – which feels like a lot of responsibility for someone who also enjoys a good time. However, I would like to formally note that she is the one who loves karaoke and chaos, so really… I am but a bystander.

We’ll share how it all went on the events page – but safe to assume: iconic behaviour across the board.

Also – thank you to everyone who sent through book recommendations after my February newsletter plea. You are the MVPs of my life. Truly enabling behaviour, and I respect it.

I ended up reading the Villains of Lore duo by Jasmine Mas and WOW. Absolute chaos. Loved it. No notes. The heroine’s inner dialogue, her relationship with her snake, the banter — I was cackling. Fully unwell. In the best way.

Also, slight issue: I may or may not own a double-digit number of special editions of this series. Allegedly. Mr. George does not need confirmation at this time. We are choosing peace.

(Jasmine, if you’re reading this – hi, hello, obsessed. Please keep doing exactly what you’re doing. Also come to NZ, we’ll drink margaritas and talk books. This is not a request, it’s a plan. I will organise snacks.)

Outside of book chaos, Mr. George and I celebrated six years of marriage and roughly sixteen years together – exact date unknown, but spiritually it’s “sometime in March”.

He remains an absolute saint. Golden Retriever energy. Elite husband behaviour. He towed a trailer from Wellington to Christchurch for ARA, built five bookcases for our display, and enthusiastically told anyone who would listen about The Grim (and some who did not ask, but needed to know).

We were meant to take the motorbike out to a winery, but I was too sick and didn’t want to cough into my helmet, and he didn’t want me falling off the motorbike. Fair enough.

Instead, we went to the movies for the first time since pre-pandemic and saw Project Hail Mary in IMAX. Incredible. 5/5. IMAX was amazing (and also aggressively expensive, so we will not be doing that very often). However, it was a lovely time to sit in a dark room and ignore each other for three hours, whilst also sitting too far away to even hold hands. Still romantic. Just… at a distance.

Well team, that's enough rambling from a cough medicine crazed book nerd. There are some mighty cool things coming that I CANNOT wait to announce to all of you beautiful people. In the meantime, stay fabulous. ✌️

Help a Sister Out with a Google Review!

We’ve just noticed something and now we can’t unsee it.

There are nearly 10,000 of you following along with us on Instagram… and over on Google we’ve got a grand total of six reviews. Six. Not sixty. Six.

Now, we’re no mathematicians, but that feels… off.

If you’ve ever ordered from us, loved a book, or had a package arrive that made your day – we’d love you forever if you took 30 seconds to leave us a review. It genuinely makes a big difference.

To leave a review, click here. Thank you in advance!

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